Behind the song “Let Us Gather”
1st Corinthians 1:10 (NLT) “Now, dear brothers and sisters, I appeal to you by the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ to stop arguing among yourselves. Let there be real harmony so there won’t be divisions in the church. I plead with you to be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.”
The beauty of the body of Christ (the Church) is her diversity. Many different upbringings, backgrounds and life experiences help us become well-rounded in how we ought to see the world and the many different ways the power of the Gospel is applied. With diversity comes great risk, however. It’s a lot safer and easier to dwell inside your personal theological echo-chambers than to be challenged. The Apostle Paul’s heart for the church of Corinth was for unity despite differing opinions on the minor issues. Each unique gathering (or denomination) must be willing to set the small stuff aside and realize that the Presbyterian, Methodist, Pentecostal, Lutheran, Baptist and so on are all united under the banner of Christ. When I wrote “Let Us Gather,” I had this visual in mind where all people of varying backgrounds and preferences all under one roof laying those things aside and embracing one another because of the unity in our worship to the one true King of Kings (this is going to be Heaven, by the way). This song is simply about being unified in our diversity. It’s a great comfort to know I have many brothers and sisters from all over the world, whom I may never meet, bearing the name of Christ and that I’m not in this walk alone. My plea to you reading this is quite simple, it doesn’t matter what denomination you associate with (or if you do at all), the question is “do you bear the name of Christ?” If so, then welcome! You are my brother/sister.
“Let us gather in one accord. With all else aside, we give Him adoration.”
We all have so much to learn from each other. Embrace the many different paint brushes God uses to color the world.
by Royal Diadem